Kerry Metzger criticizes policies that encourage alcohol consumption
NEW PHILADELPHIA – Commissioner Kerry Metzger is expressing his concern over the impact of policies at the state and local levels that he says encourage alcohol consumption.
"Public officials need to start stepping back and not put in policies that are going to encourage more use of drugs — and alcohol is one of them — that potentially causes issues with OVI enforcement, drunk driving and the like," he said at Wednesday's board of commissioners meeting.
He made note of statistics from the latest newsletter of the Safe Communities of Tuscarawas County.
There were 123 citations for operating a vehicle under the influence in Tuscarawas County from Jan. 1 to June 27 of this year, according to numbers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. That compares to 79 during the same time period in 2020.